So basically this entire book is the main characters on drug-trips, going through drug-withdrawal or sick in one form or another and puking their guts up. The whole book is written in a weird haze which means most of the time the reader does not get a very clear picture of what is going on.

I still have no idea what happened with the whole Madame's birdcage thing. Did Rhine and Gabriel have sex? I only felt the vibe that they made out in various states of undress (maybe), but if that was the case I don't understand why the men coming for prostitutes would pay to watch some kids make out. However, if Rhine and Gabriel did indeed have sex for strangers to watch, which would make more sense in context, why didn't we ever hear Rhine's thoughts about this and trying to deal with it?

The writing is also confusing at times, by which I mean I literally did not know what was going on. When Rhine and Gabriel escape Madame's and run off they see a sign for a fortune teller. Several pages of description follow in which they journey through fields and talk about being tired and in pain. Then they reach a door and it opens to a woman who is a fortune teller. After going back I realized that no time had actually passed between them seeing the sign and knocking on the door, it was just bad writing that made it seems like a whole span of time had passed. This kind of thing happens several times throughout the book.

Uhg. One of the biggest problems with this book is that nothing really happens. Ever. I'm super glad I now know what kind of chips the characters ate but I sure would like some plot to go along with that once in a while.

I also feel like Rhine lost every spark of spunk and tenacity she had in Wither. Was she the strongest character ever in Wither? No, but she at least seemed a bit rebellious and had some life to her. It seems to all have gone out the window in Fever and she resorts to literally laying around, whining, feeling sorry for herself, crying a lot and getting everyone else to take care of her.

I'm not even going to get into Maddie except to say it was a gross caricature of a child with special needs. DeStefano basically wrote in a pointless spider-dog-monkey child who is treated mostly like a pet and yet is smarter then both of the main characters in regards to survival.

Basically this book let me down on many levels and I'm really going to have to decide once the third book comes out it it'll even be worth my time to read it. ( )

Can I just say how much I hate this cover. The colours are awful and then there's the model in that very weird and unattractive pose. I can't think of a reason why anyone would choose a cover like that...

The book wasn't so good either. We've now left the 'safety' of the house to travel the country, which will only work properly if you create a world thoroughly. Otherwise it does just feels flat and uninteresting. And why would Manhattan be so much safer than were she is now? Manhattan is were she got abducted in the first place!

For me, this really was one of the second-in-a-trilogy books, that are here mainly to fill the gap between books one and three, and the author's pocket of course. Because I think, if you haven't got enough story for three books, just make it a duology! ( )

Fever picks up right where Wither drops off. Gabriel and Rhine are on the run. They find themselves at a macabre carnival full of things to fear. It felt like a filler book to me. The new characters made more sense after reading the third book, but at the time many of them feel random and over-the-top. I also felt like Rhine and Gabriel’s relationship was always tenuous at best. Fever made me feel even less invested in it somehow. I felt like the whole book could have been a few extra chapters at the end of Wither and the beginning of Sever.

BOTTOM LINE: The trilogy was just what I wanted, fast reads with enthralling plots. There are definitely pieces that feel like they come straight from another dystopian trilogy, like the constant primping of the girls by attendants (Hunger Games) or the brother who becomes a supporter of the villains’ plans (Divergent), but overall I was entertained. I didn’t like them enough to ever re-read them. The characters were often too wooden, the plot too predictable, but they are great for a reading break when you need one. ( )

After I finished Wither, I knew the first thing I needed to do was to read Fever...actually, the first thing I wanted to do was go to bed, since it was late at night. But once I woke up, I knew I would have to read Fever.

Fever takes place right after Wither ends and somehow, it just didn't do anything for me. My problems with Rhine were intensified in this novel and while I could forgive and overlook her behaviour before, I just couldn't do it here.

The main reason was, some of the stuff just didn't make sense at all.

Rhine wants to do something, but someone else ends up helping her. No, not really helping her. They actually do everything and Rhine just has to listen to them. This is fine with me though. What bothered me was the lack of sex. Hear me out.

In Wither, she never consummated her marriage with Linden, which I always had a problem with. He has sex with Cecily and Jenna, but not Rhine. Why? He respects her wishes, which was great. He's a good guy, but it still didn't make sense.

In Fever, Rhine is captured and placed in a prostitution ring. You think she's going to have sex, because her job is to have sex or be beaten, but it doesn't happen. Why? With Linden, I get that he's a good guy and wants to respect her. But Madame. She beats little kids, her girls, and drugs them. She doesn't seem like the type to just say, "It's okay Rhine. No sex pour vous."

I know you may be thinking something weird about me, but before I say anything more, let me just mention that I'm not a sex fiend or want to see Rhine get it on.

I don't.

But in both of those scenarios, Rhine having sex is something that is expected to happen, especially with how this world is. Instead, both Linden and Madame let her go. Linden has sex with his other wives, Madame gets the other girls to have sex with the paying customers, and Rhine thinks of ways to escape.

I dunno, it didn't make sense to me.

Anyways, let's talk about romance. Gabriel seems like the main guy, except he really doesn't do much in Fever. I feel bad, because even though I liked Linden more than him in the first novel, I excepted him to have a greater role in Fever. This sadly doesn't happen. Nothing happens to him and at the end of everything, he's not even in the picture anymore.

I think by biggest problem with Fever is that it truly felt like a middle book. Wither was excellent and Fever, nothing happens. They run, get captured, get drugged up, run away, get sick, find a good place, get captured, cliffhanger......joy. Seeing the world and realizing that it wasn't as good as she remembered would have added some conflict between Rhine and Gabriel. Seeing how horrible the world is, would add more conflict in this book. Gabriel doing something would have added conflict in this book. Gatherers, who should be on the streets, looking for young girls and see the girls get captured, would add more conflict to this book.

I just wanted something more and sadly, I didn't get it. That being said, I do have high hopes for the next novel in this series. Once it comes out, I'm definitely picking it up and seeing how this trilogy ends. Can't wait! ( )

Despite the cliffhanger ending of the last novel, it took me a little while to get into this sequel. However, about mid-way through, the action really picked up and I sped my way to the end. Rhine's adventures (and misadventures) after escaping the mansion only to attempt to make her way back to a life and a brother that might not be waiting for her are often heartbreaking, as is much of the dystopian future she inhabits. A good read and I'm ready for the conclusion to this series (I really want to know if they find a cure to the virus) as soon as I can get my hands on it! ( )

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In a future where genetic engineering has cured humanity of all diseases and defects but has also produced a virus that kills all females by age twenty and all males by the age twenty-five, teenaged Rhine escapes her forced marriage and journeys back to New York to find her twin brother.… (more)